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Assen MotoGP: James Toseland jubilant with top six

James Toseland was jubilant after he stormed to his best result of a troubled 2009 season in today’s Dutch MotoGP race.

The British rider ended a titanic midfield scrap in sixth position to claim his best result since the Australian GP in Phillip Island last season.

Boosted by having Yamaha boss Masahiko Nakajima as a constant companion in his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 garage all weekend, the 28-year-old shrugged off a warm-up crash to play a leading role in one of the mostly fiercely fought scraps witnessed in the 800cc MotoGP era.

A poor start dropped Toseland down to 12th on the opening lap before he produced a brilliant fightback, surging to the front of a classic scrap for sixth on lap 11.

Toseland rode superbly under intense pressure with Mika Kallio, Nicky Hayden, Randy de Puniet, Alex de Angelis, Toni Elias and Loris Capirossi all chasing the Yorkshireman for the second half of the race.

Finn Kallio briefly dropped Toseland back to seventh on laps 16 and 17 and again on the penultimate lap before the gripping battle reached a dramatic finale.

Planning a last corner attack on Kallio to claim sixth, Toseland’s masterplan came unstuck when Toni Elias produced an aggressive at Turn 10.